The Husker secondary will be ready for the Golden Gophers attack Saturday

Photo by Scott Bruhn/Nebraska Communications

Husker Secondary Ready for Gophers Attack

By NU Athletic Communications

| 11/14/2012

Lincoln, Neb.- The
Nebraska football team continued its week of preparation for Saturday's Legends
Division game against Minnesota on Wednesday. The team practiced
in jerseys and helmets for approximately 90 minutes, splitting time
between the Hawks Championship Center inside and outside on the Ed and Joyanne
Gass Practice Field.

Defensive secondary coach
Terry Joseph met with the media after practice, and talked about the poise he
sees out of Minnesota’s dual-threat true freshman quarterback Phillip Nelson.

‘Anytime you have a guy in
there playing in his first year, I think they have done a good job progressing
the offense as he has gotten a little bit more comfortable.” Joseph said, “What
he does is take care of the ball a good bit, and then they have those good,
big receivers.”

One of the big receivers Joseph was talking about is former starting
quarterback MarQueis Gray. Standing in at 6-4, and weighing 250 pounds, Gray will be the go-to-receiver
for the Gophers on Saturday. Gray has caught 12 passes this year for 121 yards.

Joseph put a big deal of
emphasis on stopping Gray this week during practice.

“He is not the fastest guy,
but he uses his body and his body position like a basketball player.” Joseph
said, “In the redzone they probably want to throw a lob to him, so
he will try and box us out and turn it to a jump ball.”

As for covering Gray, Joseph
expects the whole platoon of Husker cornerbacks to get their chance at Gray.
“We will be aware of where he is at, and we won’t try and put ourselves in a bad
spot.”

Expect a lot of pressure
Saturday afternoon when the Huskers matchup against the Gophers, as Joseph puts
it.

“We are going to try and win
first and second down and get them behind the chains, and then on third down we
will let the guys go a bit and let them do their thing.”

Check back here at
Huskers.com as the Nebraska football team continues to prepare for its Saturday
showdown against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Kickoff between the Huskers and
Minnesota will be televised on the Big Ten Network at 2:30p.m.